I wonder if they could make a case that it violates the HIPAA, since your heartbeat/activity tracker info is on the device? Kind of a weak argument, but HIPAA is a pretty contentious subject.
This is correct. We ran a website for diabetics where users volunteered health data and HIPAA didn't apply to us. If it coordinated data exchange with doctors directly then it would be different.
What about doctors using an iPhone to check a patient's files? Would apple have to make a secure HIPAA compliant version for hospital use? What about government use? I bet all those FBI agents are talking to each other with iphones...
> I wonder if they could make a case that it violates the HIPAA, since your heartbeat/activity tracker info is on the device?
HIPAA privacy protections only apply to data held by HIPAA "covered entities", which are mostly insurers, health care providers, and their business associates, and they restrict disclosures by those covered entities.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_Insurance_Portability_a...